My Cascades are much bigger this year than in the past 3 years. They also look like they will be ready earlier than in previous years. I think the unusually hot summer in Chicagoland is the reason, but a little fertilizer probably didn't hurt.

You're using sunflowers to train your hops bines on? Looks like an awesome idea. If I ever move my hops out of containers I will have to try this. What variety of sunflower are you using?

We had a super mild winter, and that is standing dead from last year. Birds did not even eat all the seeds!

I bet the super big sunflowers would work the best, big and sturdy. This probably would work best with new plants or just additional climbing opportunities adjacent to some real support (eg rebar poles in background). Cheers. Hops can grow on anything.

I'm with Pinnah about the cone structure. My Zeus are dense to the point that it's hard to peel them apart to check how the goodies are progressing. Very little male bloom this year on them so they must like it hot and dry.

As for some of the other comments about different varieties coming ripe before others, hops tend to grow with a lot of variability until they become established - and depending on your growing conditions, that may be as long as 3 and possibly 4 years in some cases. Once they're established you can usually begin to pick up the little quirks that each variety may possess. It all takes time so enjoy the ride!